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Thursday, 31 December 2009

2009 had been an eventful year, my first season as a sponsored rider, lots of great rides and exciting races, more podiums than I dared hope for and many hours in the saddle and riding with good friends. I also clocked my largest MTB mileage for a year, at just over 9000miles, a total I would complete on the end of year New Year's Eve 2009 celebration ride with my friends.

Sunday, 15 November 2009

So, there I was, on the start line, doing the one thing I said I'd never do: I was about to start my first cyclocross race. Despite not owning a cyclocross bike, I had shoehorned some 700C×28 knobbly tyres into my Kaffenback touring bike, not really your ideal racing snake, and here I was. Time to brace myself for an hour of pain, I was about to start racing at the latest round of the combined Sussex County and London 'Cross Leagues!At the end of the hour I had confirmed to myself what I already thought I knew. I suck at 'cross racing. It was kind of fun though ;-)

Monday, 5 October 2009

As a birthday treat and I have rewarded myself with, maybe not the most original brithday present for a cyclist, but one that scratches a few itches that I've been meaning to have a go at for a while.

Careful use of classified adds and eBay and I have an 8-speed Alfine internal gear hub plugged into a frame with sliding vertical dropouts, including the rear disc mount (in this instance I have managed to get hold of a lovely 20" Voodoo Wanga) and up front I have plugged in the upside down, braceless Maverick SC32 fork. The tyres are set up tubeless. All of this is meant to represent the best in winter/mud bike solutions for a no-hassle, reliable-shifting, mud-clogging-proof wonder machine. to add an extra element of durability I have a Surly stainless steel chainring up front and a steel sprocket on the rear. The single gear cable runs a full length outer, 'natch ;-)

Friday, 25 September 2009

My Sleepless In The Saddle 24hr Solo victory made it into MBUK in the October 2010 issue of MBUK - untold fame, woo-hoo! Getting into MBUK for the first time was a boyhood dream, I was pretty excited when I saw it, and it still makes me smile (click the pic to make the article big enough to read):

Sunday, 26 July 2009

When the Morvélo team was first spoken about last October, before Morvélo existed and when it was just a team, this was the event Oli and I had in our minds. the aim: To go out and race as hard as we could. No excuses, hold nothing back, no what ifs, just ride as fast as we could to a man and leave knowing we couldn't have tried any faster (once we could walk again!). Fast forward nine months and there we were, the Morvélo team at TwentyFour12, and what a great weekend; a fantastic result, happy podium smiles and all out expectations exceeded.

Saturday, 20 June 2009

So, this was it, my first race as a sponsored rider. I was at Mountain Mayhem, the biggest race in UK endurance racing, and riding for Leisure Lakes. This was a big deal and I was about to meet the guy who had put the team together for the first time. I needn’t have been worried. Matt, the engine behind the team and Dave, his friend and fourth team rider who would join Gavin and I for the weekend, were both as enthusiastic and friendly as they were fast. Matt and Dave were also looking to Gavin and I to lead the weekend’s logistics using our previous endurance racing experience. The weekend turned out to be a complete blast, a few tricky moments to overcome, were overcome and we were more than happy with our first showing. I think I’m going to enjoy “being a sponsored rider”, I loved the added pressure and excitement it brought. It made the satisfaction of finishing and success even greater.

Monday, 1 June 2009

With the full 2009 season stretching before me in Morvélo kit, the lovely guys at Exposure Lights, who are always suoper supportive as well as making the best lights out there (essential for race day with the CFD, battery meter, light weight and QR bracket features) have come up trumps with a set of "Team Issue" lights; chromed ends and personalised for each of us with our lames laser etched on in the factory. Woo-Hoo!